Name the topic of your discussion and the date you led it. Also describe your process of preparing and how you feel the discussion went. (minimum 250 words)
I lead a discussion in Mr. Deffner’s class on November 11th. We discussed chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Catcher in the Rye. To prepare for it, I put sticky notes in the book as I read, marking things that I thought were important to discuss. When I finished reading, I went through the sticky notes and chose ones that I felt would make good, thoughtful questions that were relevant for us to discuss as a class. I typed them up on a google doc, and then shared them with Mr. Deffner who printed them out. In class everyone sat in groups of four and I gave each person a sheet with six questions on it. We talked about the questions both in groups and as a whole class. I think it would have been better for me to be more organized about which questions to talk about as a class and which to talk about as a group, but overall I think it went well. I tried to engage everyone in the discussion.
Here are the questions we talked about: Holden is a very complex character. At times he can be annoying or rude, but other times he is very likeable. In groups, find an example from the book where he is likeable, and another where he isn’t. What do you think of his character? At the beginning of Chapter 14, Holden talks about how depressed he is (page 98). Then, at the end of the chapter he says he wants to commit suicide (page 104). He often exaggerates, but do you think he is being serious this time? What makes you think so? Religion is an important topic in these chapters. First, we hear Holden discuss his beliefs on religion (page 99), then he meets the nuns (page 109) and we hear about some of his religious background (page 112) . Before this, the only time religion mentioned was his constant use of the word “goddam”. What is his relationship to religion? How does it influence him and his actions? On page 107 Holden talks about how skinny he is. How did you picture him at the beginning of the book? How has your image of him changed as you’ve gotten to know him? What made you picture him this way? The end of chapter 16 is about Holden’s memories in the Museum of Natural History from his childhood. In the last paragraph he says “Then a funny thing happened. When I got to the museum, all of a sudden I wouldn't have gone inside for a million bucks.” (page 122). Why do you think this is? What is he afraid of?
I did a discussion in Mr. Deffner's class last Thursday. I discussed chapters 17, 18, and 19. Luckily for me, the day before I had to present Isabelle had her discussion so I had a good idea of how I would need to organize my discussion. But I wanted to do something more then just questions. For the discussion I had 4 questions per chapter, then 3 character sheets. One for Holden, one for Sally, and one for Luce. Sadly I didn't have enough time to finish my whole discussion because I learned my class goes very deep into discussion about questions. Even then, I didn't even finish all of my questions. Even though I didn't finish my whole discussion, I still think this is good preparation for my future years. As I grow older and go to college, I strive to learn how to be a teacher. This project helped me see that not everything you have planed will be done. It helped me have a real teaching moment and see what it is really like to be a teacher. I really enjoyed this project because I became even more experienced for the years ahead. Here is the link to my discussion questions and character pages: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PHEHg_f4XBIfTP0bKXWYUIiut-00J4UtxmrsZYJdK8M/edit
Hannah, really liked how you organized this discussion and thought it was a good way to get us to think about things and not just ask us question after question. Discussions, from my own personal experience, are not the easiest things to lead and I thought that you did an excellent job staying organized and getting us to think beyond just the words. Small groups work well for a lot of people and I thought it was a good decision. I could picture you as a teacher when you lead this discussion. Good Job!
I lead a discussion in Mr. Deffner’s class on November 11th. We discussed chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Catcher in the Rye. To prepare for it, I put sticky notes in the book as I read, marking things that I thought were important to discuss. When I finished reading, I went through the sticky notes and chose ones that I felt would make good, thoughtful questions that were relevant for us to discuss as a class. I typed them up on a google doc, and then shared them with Mr. Deffner who printed them out. In class everyone sat in groups of four and I gave each person a sheet with six questions on it. We talked about the questions both in groups and as a whole class. I think it would have been better for me to be more organized about which questions to talk about as a class and which to talk about as a group, but overall I think it went well. I tried to engage everyone in the discussion.
ReplyDeleteHere are the questions we talked about:
Holden is a very complex character. At times he can be annoying or rude, but other times he is very likeable. In groups, find an example from the book where he is likeable, and another where he isn’t. What do you think of his character?
At the beginning of Chapter 14, Holden talks about how depressed he is (page 98). Then, at the end of the chapter he says he wants to commit suicide (page 104). He often exaggerates, but do you think he is being serious this time? What makes you think so?
Religion is an important topic in these chapters. First, we hear Holden discuss his beliefs on religion (page 99), then he meets the nuns (page 109) and we hear about some of his religious background (page 112) . Before this, the only time religion mentioned was his constant use of the word “goddam”. What is his relationship to religion? How does it influence him and his actions?
On page 107 Holden talks about how skinny he is. How did you picture him at the beginning of the book? How has your image of him changed as you’ve gotten to know him? What made you picture him this way?
The end of chapter 16 is about Holden’s memories in the Museum of Natural History from his childhood. In the last paragraph he says “Then a funny thing happened. When I got to the museum, all of a sudden I wouldn't have gone inside for a million bucks.” (page 122). Why do you think this is? What is he afraid of?
I did a discussion in Mr. Deffner's class last Thursday. I discussed chapters 17, 18, and 19. Luckily for me, the day before I had to present Isabelle had her discussion so I had a good idea of how I would need to organize my discussion. But I wanted to do something more then just questions. For the discussion I had 4 questions per chapter, then 3 character sheets. One for Holden, one for Sally, and one for Luce. Sadly I didn't have enough time to finish my whole discussion because I learned my class goes very deep into discussion about questions. Even then, I didn't even finish all of my questions. Even though I didn't finish my whole discussion, I still think this is good preparation for my future years. As I grow older and go to college, I strive to learn how to be a teacher. This project helped me see that not everything you have planed will be done. It helped me have a real teaching moment and see what it is really like to be a teacher. I really enjoyed this project because I became even more experienced for the years ahead.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my discussion questions and character pages: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PHEHg_f4XBIfTP0bKXWYUIiut-00J4UtxmrsZYJdK8M/edit
Hannah, really liked how you organized this discussion and thought it was a good way to get us to think about things and not just ask us question after question. Discussions, from my own personal experience, are not the easiest things to lead and I thought that you did an excellent job staying organized and getting us to think beyond just the words. Small groups work well for a lot of people and I thought it was a good decision. I could picture you as a teacher when you lead this discussion. Good Job!
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